1995 BMW 320i

[captain_70s]

I'm not very experienced with that sort of thing, so any help is appreciated!

Remove loose rust and paint from area with ginder/sanding etc. (Scary).

Apply fibreglass paste to hole and wait for it to dry. (Messy).

Sand back fibreglass until it is nice and flat to the bodywork. (Satisfying).

Apply primer to area to be painted. (Back to scary).

Apply aerosol can of correct paint to area. (Still scary).

Step back and admire handywork. (Satisfying).

Wait for paint to dry and realise it looks shit. (Annoying).

Add more layers of paint in the vain hope it might end up the same colour as the rest of the car. (Hopeful).

Accept it looks a bit naff but nobody else in the world will care because old car. (Fuck it).

[Supernaut]

Hence my desire to go full "fuck it" mode from the get-go and do it in black stonechip. That would look incredibly naff, though.

[320touring]

Tbh you have a nice split where the rubbing strip is, so some sensible prep, and it'll look smashing in body colour.

 

The paints4u stuff goes on well

[Supernaut]

Aye, I'll ask my parents nicely if I can use one of their barns for this work. I'd probably need to set aside a whole weekend (or more) to do it.

 

I think I'll aim to do one side at a time from start to finish, instead of starting bits and leaving it unfinished for a week etc. etc.

 

 

 

I'm getting really far ahead of myself here though! Still waiting for the MOT fixing parts to arrive, then I need to fit them sometime in March and then get it re-MOT'd!

[5speedracer]

 

 

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As a sidenote, I rather like Ellon Car Clinic. I asked the mechanic if he could come outside first as I wanted to explain a few things to him. Showed him how to start it, and explained the bonnet needed pliers to open. I asked if he wanted me to ping it off the catches in the car park and he just said "Ach, it's fine! I've got E36s at home!" and he just cracked on with it. I'll be taking it back there for a re-test, definitely!.

 

Used them for new Uniroyal Rainsport tyres last summer and the mechanic told me how liked the tyres. This despite having goosed a front set on a tuned Saab turbo he had in 6k miles.

I'd use them again too.....

 

Sent from my Redmi 4 using Tapatalk

[captain_70s]

Hence my desire to go full "fuck it" mode from the get-go and do it in black stonechip. That would look incredibly naff, though.

I'd go for body colour first, that way you get some practice in before hiding the results.

[Supernaut]

Bits have arrived!

 

 

 

 

GSF also sent me a flyer.

 

 

No thanks, guys. Santa Pod is a fair drive from here!

[320touring]

I've done Santa Pod for the show once years ago. Hardly worth the effort.

 

Re the rear suspension, mind and keep track of the order that the washers etc on the damper go. Makes it easy to refit when building the new ones up.

[vaughant]

Don't tide mark or, it will look dismal. You could however, spray on white/grey stonechip then paint it Boston green over the top, would look a lot more MOD-REN and require far less skill in prepwork, ken? Ken fit like.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

The 15" steels on the 316 wear 185/65

 

I'll have a look at paints4u too, thanks for the pointer.

 

 

205/60x15 in 'loys.

 

A mate has set of these old Coupe wheels but he's in Mansfield.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I've done Santa Pod for the show once years ago. Hardly worth the effort.

 

 

 

 

It's a wankerfest. I don't do BMW shows. Grunting imbeciles in slammed E46/E90 rubbish on mismatched part worns and thumping' tunez. 

 

Sorry. We are not at home.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Remove loose rust and paint from area with ginder/sanding etc. (Scary).

Apply fibreglass paste to hole and wait for it to dry. (Messy).

Sand back fibreglass until it is nice and flat to the bodywork. (Satisfying).

Apply primer to area to be painted. (Back to scary).

Apply aerosol can of correct paint to area. (Still scary).

Step back and admire handywork. (Satisfying).

Wait for paint to dry and realise it looks shit. (Annoying).

Add more layers of paint in the vain hope it might end up the same colour as the rest of the car. (Hopeful).

Accept it looks a bit naff but nobody else in the world will care because old car. (Fuck it).

 

Lots of primer, lots of 800 grit wet and dry and lots of time until it's perfect. I'd use Halfords Boston green, a good match. Paint and lacquer up to the side moulding. After a week, block it with 2000 grit and T Cut it, job done.

 

And wait until April. It's too cold for bodywork and the paint will bloom.

[Supernaut]

It'll probably be April by the time I get round to doing it. It'll be early March before I can even fit the stuff that arrived yesterday, then put it in for another MOT!

[Supernaut]

I went to John Clark BMW today, and ordered some parts:

- rear shock absorber mounting bolts

- screenwash nozzles

- aux belt

- bonnet release cables and catches

 

Total is £135, and I will collect it next Saturday. Would have been north of £200 if I went for heated screenwash nozzles...

 

I also pissed about in the showroom while waiting. I even sat in an i8!

 

 

[320touring]

Good good - It'll be a nice thing once the work has been done.

[Supernaut]

Stuff sort of happened today. I set out with the intention of fitting the front drop links and seeing how the rear shocks are fitted. The front drop links I got are wrong! GSF listed two types. One loooong and one short. This needs short ones. I've ordered a pair of short ones for 59% off, so £16.40 in total, and requested to return the long ones.

 

Anyway, the battery was dead, so the central locking was dead. Also, the key doesn't fit in the boot lock! This resulted in me crawling through the folded down rear seats to achieve this:

 

 

I then had to liberate this from the Mondeo:

 

 

Once we managed to get enough juice to activate all the central locking, I put the battery back in the Mondeo and did a jump-start.

 

 

Tea was then made.

 

 

 

We've found out why it failed for one of the rear shock absorber top mounts. The left one is properly fucked. You can just grab the top of the shock with your hand and wobble the whole car. It also rotates freely. That would explain the interesting handling characteristics!

 

Also, while rooting around removing all the boot trim, we found out that this car is the gift that keeps on giving...

 

 

This little lot was hiding under the carpet. That's a lovely 1/2" drive ratchet, plus a set of fittings for all sorts of stuff. Torx, security torx, allen keys, security allen keys, screw drivers, tri-drives(!), all sorts.

 

 

 

We then left the boot looking like this. The nuts holding in the rear shocks have been soaked in penetrating fluid, ready for when all the new fittings arrive from BMW.

 

[320touring]

Hi Matt, could I ask you to post the tools back to me please - happy to pay for it!

 

Good lady bought me them, and she'll kill me!

 

Cheers

Ps - good work so far:)

[Supernaut]

We were wondering about them. They were a bit too good to just be left in a car! Will sort something out ASAP. Replied to your PM.

 

I'm genuinely curious as to how it ended up under the boot carpet though. It was properly hidden under there! We only found it when tearing the boot apart to get access to the tops of the shock absorbers.

[320touring]

Great cheers - I tend to put wee tools in the wheelwell as it stops them rattling about.

 

I can be a Muppet sometimes!

[Supernaut]

Another purchase:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-x-ALLOY-WHEEL-BOLTS-FOR-BMW-3-SERIES-E21-E30-E36-E46-E90-M12x1-5-NUTS-H10/360750043961?fits=Plat_Gen%3AE36&hash=item53fe60d339:g:SOIAAOSw32lYwVYy

 

The locking bolts on it are past their best. They're all chewed up and removing them involves hammering the 'key' into them. Cue a grumpy post about a week after I get it MOT'd saying the alloys have been nicked...

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

Top chod fondling....... I'm on NumbersTouring side of the fence here - I always bloody forget the tools I've kept as emergency* reserves. Would hate to total it up over the years

 

Is this to be in daily service once MoT'd?

[Supernaut]

Neither of my cars are in "daily" service as I live a mile from work, so cycle there!

I am, however, looking for other work... I digress.


No, it won't be a daily, but it'll be a weekend car and get driven as much as possible because it's bloody lovely to drive even in the state it's currently in! E36s have got under my skin!


Also, posted the tools to Mr Touring this morning.


The plan would be to get this road legal, then get new rear springs on the white 316, get that one MOT'd, then park them next to each other at shows because me and 17-Coffees are sad bastards awesome.

 

 

 

EDIT: We might need to replace the alternator on Mr Coffees' LS400 before we work on the 316 though, as the LS is blocking the garage the 316 is in! I do love chod fondling.

[Supernaut]

The correct drop links and the non-locking wheel bolts arrived yesterday.

 

I now also have a target for getting this thing roadworthy again. The last weekend of April.

 

My friend in the Durham area has invited me round that weekend for his birthday. He visited Aberdeen for my birthday back in January and thus knows about this car. He's not seen it though. I want to turn up to his house in it.

[Supernaut]

Karl mk1?

Carl Mk1, yes.

 

 

Ah, I remember now. We used Carl Mk2 to send the Datsun estate parts to ruffgeezer.

[Supernaut]

 

I really should start fitting stuff to this car, not just building up a collection of parts!

 

Contained in that box is the following:

- Aux belt

- Bonnet cables

- Bonnet catches

- Screenwash nozzles

- Nuts and bolts to hold in the rear shock absorbers / top mounts

 

EDIT: Already achieved this.

 

 

Will get to work on the car itself tomorrow.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

^When fitting those, remove the three Torx per side and bend the front panel bits up. Otherwise it's a lot of PITA dismantling, headlights out etc.

[Supernaut]

We had one of those days working on this car.

 

A whole day (ok, we stopped for a while to watch some of the racing at Goodwood on ITV2, it was epic) to replace the bonnet catches and cables, the dodgy screenwash nozzle, and one front drop link.

 

We only got the driver's side drop link done, as the passenger side one wasn't even connected to the wishbone! Mr Coffees will take the bracket into work and see what can be done to it with regards to cleaning it up and bolting it back on.

 

I also horribly fucked up the bonnet release cable. I got it mostly done, then pulled the old one just a bit too far through into the car, so lost the route through the wing. I ended up bodging it by making a handle out of a random bit of metal I found in the glovebox and leaving it dangling in the door jamb. It works, but it's ugly.

 

 

 

Also, it was bastarding cold!

[17-Coffees]

Between us set about doing the drop links, which was fine enough. The O/S/F was easy once I realized there I was able to grip the balljoint side with another spanner. (Was using a leaver to put pressure on it from behind to stop it turning...).
Then set about doing the N/S/F....the wheels was a pain to come off, stuck to the hub, as well. Went to loosen the top bolt and then the whole link and moved. Bugger.

Then I seen what was wrong...

It’s been like that a while going by how rusted the remains of the bolt is.

As Supernaut said, I’m going to deal with it at work. Remove what’s left of the old, clean up the bracket, fit a replacement bolt, etc.

 

Admittedly i did very little, spent more time arranging my garage...oop's.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

A new bracket will be cheap enough, or punch the old bolt out and fit a new one - but you'll need to grind the head down to stop it fouling the drop link. 

 

E36 main bonnet cables are a right cunt. I just remove the top wing bolts and the ones in the door jamb, and just pull the wing back. Then all is revealed. You'll need a mate to steady the bonnet, and the rear bolts go through the hinge.

[Supernaut]

A new bracket will be cheap enough, or punch the old bolt out and fit a new one - but you'll need to grind the head down to stop it fouling the drop link. 

 

E36 main bonnet cables are a right cunt. I just remove the top wing bolts and the ones in the door jamb, and just pull the wing back. Then all is revealed. You'll need a mate to steady the bonnet, and the rear bolts go through the hinge.

Aha, yes. However, the top wing bolts didn't seem to want to move, and they're bloody torx drive too!